A lawyer of the governorship candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, Muyiwa Obanewa, has
reacted to reports that his client was arraigned on Monday before a high court
in Abeokuta over alleged vote buying.
Obanewa, while addressing journalists in Abeokuta on
Tuesday, said his client was yet to be served any notice of a suit filed
against him.
According to him, arraignment does not take place unless the
defendant had been duly served.
“It is not true that Adebutu had been docked. As we speak,
he has not even been served, he is not even aware of it; and until you are
aware and served with a court process, you cannot be alleged to have evaded the
court. He has to be served before he can be arraigned,” the lawyer said.
It was reported on Monday that Adebutu was arraigned in
absentia with nine others for allegedly involving in vote buying during the
March 18 election.
The Federal Government, through the office of the Attorney
General of the Federation, pressed charges against Adebutu and others.
The suit followed a petition written by the Chairman of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun, Yemi Sanusi, and made available to the
police.
Reacting, Obanewa said the case was politically motivated,
saying it could not stand the test of time.
According to him, “only five of the 10 defendants were
served and they appeared in court yesterday.”
He said the five that were in court pleaded not guilty and
were granted bail “in very lenient terms,” in the sum of N100,000 and one
surety.
This, he said, was to show that the charge was not a serious
one, saying it has no leg to stand on.
The legal practitioner argued that only the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) has the power to sue an individual over
matters of electoral offences.
“The duty to investigate electoral matters is that of INEC
and not the Chairman of APC in Ogun State. We will meet them in court. We are
waiting for the APC Chairman to even come and give evidence,” Obanewa added.
He explained that INEC, which is the only one that can
initiate criminal prosecutions involving electoral offences, was not aware of
the case and was not a party to it.
The Counsel, however, expressed his readiness to defend the
defendants in the matter, stating that, “We are ready for the case. We have
seen the proof of evidence, we have seen that purely it is political.”
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